NCJ Number
85525
Date Published
1981
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Society and correctional treatment of the elderly is described, based on a literature review.
Abstract
In contrast to cultures treating the elderly with special respect, Western nations devalue the aged. Physical limitations, poverty, and decline in mental abilities are common among the elderly. Aged blacks face particular problems. Elderly offenders constitute a tiny minority of prison inmates and have rarely been studied. Some are interspersed with the general prison population, while others are housed in special geriatric units or cells. Some have been in prison for decades, while others had committed their first offenses late in life. Some suffer excessively from dependency on the institution. Although the incarcerated elderly experience the health problems and psychological isolation of the general population, their experience differs from that of the elderly outside the prison in several respects. They have healthy diets, extensive care and attention, no access to alcohol, isolation from family and friends, and a sense of agelessness unique to the prison experience. In addition, prison rehabilitation programs are geared to youthful offenders, and the criteria for granting parole are inappropriate to the lives of the old. However, some formal and informal programs have been established to help fulfill the elderly inmate's needs, particularly for protection from younger, dominant offenders. Issues which should be addressed include the use of government benefits to the incarcerated elderly and the care and protection of this segment of the prison population. Thirty-eight references are listed.